Assemblywoman Aura K. Dunn Keynote Address MLK Observance Committee Breakfast

The Dreams Continuing Vision: Hope and Harmony

By Assemblywoman Aura K. Dunn, TapIntoMorristown

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – "It is impossible to know what Dr. King would say if he were alive today, or if he were here in this room.

But I don’t think he would struggle to find words.

This past weekend, I reread his “I Have a Dream” speech.

As I read it, I could hear his booming voice, his perfect cadence, the moral clarity of his words as he spoke to 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.

Part of that dream has come to fruition.

But as he made clear that day, it was only the beginning.

We may never live to see the perfect world he envisioned.

But during our time on this earth, we can seek to advance his cause.

America was a troubled country then.

America is a troubled country today.

And I feel certain that if Dr. King were here now, he would have strong words about the state of our discourse;

the cruelty that poisons our public square;

the sickening hatred that we see on social media;

the contemptible things some of our public officials say.

I believe he would ask us to turn down the volume, listen more, talk less, and work harder to make our democracy function as it should.

To seek peaceful ways to resolve our differences.

More hope. Less hate.

More civility. Less belligerence.

More understanding. Less judgment.

A higher standard for those in public life.

Higher expectations of those entrusted with power.

On this, I feel what Dr. King once called the fierce urgency of now.

Because nothing good will come from the path we are on.

Because when democracy frays, problems fester.

When power is concentrated instead of checked.

When decisions are made behind closed doors rather than in the light of day.

When citizens begin to believe that their voices don’t matter,

that outcomes are predetermined, and that accountability is optional for those at the top.

When people withdraw — not just from politics, but from one another — feeding a growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation in a country meant to be bound together by shared civic life.

And when short-term political convenience replaces long-term responsibility —

leaving our children with a ballooning national debt,

and an education system that too often fails to prepare the next generation for work, for college, or for civic life itself.

That is when cynicism takes root.

That is when participation declines.

And that is when trust in our institutions collapses.

We can argue.

We can complain.

But if that is all we do, these challenges will not disappear.

They will become tomorrow’s crises, larger, harder and more costly to fix.

While we cannot know what Dr. King would say today, we do know what he showed us by his example.

He taught us that democracy is not self-sustaining.

It requires participation.

It demands moral courage.

It depends on citizens who insist, peacefully and persistently, that those in public life serve the common good rather than divide us for partisan political gain.

The greatest honor we can pay him is by emulating his example. Striving to fix what has sickened our democracy.

Using the ballot box to insist on candidates who want to fix it.

By refusing to reward those who poison our discourse.

By finding common ground when times demand resolution.

To stand in the public square and courageously speak for those who can’t.

Words are the most powerful instrument given to humankind.

The internet has given unparalleled reach to what we say that no other generation has ever known.

We need not be a Senator or run for President to make a difference.

With the tools now at our fingertips, it has never been easier to right a wrong; correct an injustice; advance a cause or lead a movement.

Never has it been easier to be a source of inspiration or a role model in a country starving for leadership.

There has never been a greater need for that than there is today.

There has never been a better time to do it.

There has never been a group of people better suited to do it than those of us in this room.

That is how the dream is honored; not in words alone, but in the lives you lead.

Thank you."

(Remarks given at the Annual MLK Observance Committee Interfaith Breakfast, Hyatt Regency Morriston, NJ)